"Simashki" golden-plated and agate necklace

This necklace is inspired by a necklace discovered by R. de Mecquenem between 1929 and 1933, at the tell of the Royal City.

Figurative representations of the area around 2000 BC J.-C. show us either multi-row necklaces, generally rigid, or one or more rows of pearls of various sizes and shapes distributed on both sides of a larger central pattern.

A necklace in gold and agate Susa provides us an example of this kind of jewel. It is composed of twelve agate beads and two cylindrical alternating with six ribbed globular gold beads, a type very common in Mesopotamia, Syria and Susa in the first half of the second millennium. In the center of the necklace is an elongated golden pearl of square section. Each of the faces is decorated with three rows of patterns executed by punching imitating watermarks or granulations.

At the time of these two dynasties, the pearls are most often in agate, carnelian and gold. Stone pearls are usually globular, cylindrical and biconvex, gold pearls are ribbed.